Updates
We change something in StockWatch most days. These are the changes you'll notice, newest first.
A monitor that is waiting to run now says so
- Fixed
When your plan's cloud monitors are all in use, a monitor that is switched on has to wait. It used to look as if it was running, and its details said there was nothing you needed to do. Its card now says it isn't running, and why.
- Improved
From that card you can swap it with a monitor that is running, move it to your own browser, or upgrade. The Chrome extension shows it as not running too.
Sold-out alerts now arrive from every shop
- Fixed
Ticking "Sold out" on a monitor didn't always do anything. On some shops the sell-out showed on your dashboard but the alert never went out, and now it does. "Sold out" is still off until you tick it, and it only emails you if you've also switched on "Stock goes out" in Settings, so it won't use your monthly emails unless you ask it to.
New help guides: queue alerts, plans, and watching one product
- New
Help has three new guides. Pokemon Center queue alerts explains what each alert means and what to do when the queue goes up. Plans and limits says what each plan includes and what to do when you reach a limit. Watching one product from a link covers choosing a size, setting a price to wait for, and what to try when a link cannot be read.
- Improved
Troubleshooting now lists each message a monitor can show, with what it means and what to do about it.
A step by step guide to setting up alerts
- Improved
The guide to alerts in Help now takes you through each way of being told one step at a time: on your phone (with the extra steps an iPhone needs), by email and in Discord, and how to send yourself a test.
- Improved
The guides to creating a monitor, how often monitors check, keywords and teams have been brought up to date, and each now says which plan a feature comes with.
Accents in product names come out right
- Fixed
Some product names and alerts showed a jumble where an accent or a curly quote should be, so Pokémon could turn up as "Pokémon". Names now read the way the shop wrote them, and the ones already in your products list put themselves right at the monitor's next check.
Primark monitors, in beta
- New
You can now watch Primark. Paste a link to a Primark product, tap your size, and we'll tell you when it can be reserved for Click & Collect again. It's new, so if an alert looks off, tell us.
- New
A lot of what Primark sells is in its shops only. Add your postcode to a product and we'll tell you when a Primark near you has it on the shelf, and which shop.
- New
On a paid plan you can also watch everything Primark lists, or check the shops for a whole search.
A proper guide to the Chrome extension
- New
The Chrome extension now has a full guide in Help, with pictures: how to make a monitor by clicking on a page, what each status in the extension means, and what to do when one needs you.
The extension tells you when a shop wants to check you're human
- New
Some shops ask visitors to prove they're human before they show a page. A monitor that runs in your own Chrome can't answer that for you, so the extension now tells you when it happens, with a button that opens the page. Get past the check once and the monitor carries on.
Monitors in your browser tell you when they stop
- New
A monitor that runs in your own Chrome only checks while Chrome is open. If one goes a while without a check, we now send you an alert that says so and how to start it again. You'll hear once, not every time you close your laptop.
- Improved
If a monitor you made by picking something can't get through from our side, it now has a Run it in my browser button. One press moves it to your own Chrome exactly as it is.
The Chrome extension checks its work, and asks for less
- Improved
The StockWatch Chrome extension no longer collects any usage data, and the switch for it has gone from its settings. It also asks Chrome for fewer permissions than before.
- New
When you pick something to watch in the extension, StockWatch now checks it can read it before saving and shows you what it read. If a shop keeps us out, it tells you there and then and offers to run the monitor in your browser instead.
- Improved
When a shop changes how its page is laid out, a monitor you made by picking something now follows it, as long as it still says the same. If we can't be sure it is the same thing, the monitor stops and asks you to pick it again.
- Improved
Sign out on the website and the extension now signs out with you.
Picking what to watch in Chrome works on more pages
- Improved
In the StockWatch Chrome extension you can now pick a greyed-out Add to basket button, which is usually the thing you want to hear about. A cookie banner no longer gets in the way either: press Use the page to close it, then carry on picking.
- Improved
A monitor made by picking something on a page now keeps watching the same thing when the shop rearranges that page. Pick a product in a list and it follows that product, wherever it moves to.
- Fixed
If the extension gets signed out it now tells you, with a badge on its icon and a notification. Before, monitors running in your browser carried on checking with nowhere to send what they found.
- Fixed
The extension's Monitors tab now says when a monitor has stopped checking, and why one is failing, in plain words.
- Improved
Get the latest extension from Settings. Older ones will suggest the update the next time you open them.
Add more shops, then pick which one runs
- New
When your plan's cloud monitors are all in use, a new monitor is now saved and paused rather than turned away. Tap Run this one instead to swap it with one that's running. Both keep everything you set up, so you can swap back whenever you like.
- Improved
A monitor you switch back on after a long pause now starts from what's on the shop today, so you won't get a pile of alerts about everything that changed while it was off.
Your queue alert tells you it is on
- Improved
Once your Pokemon Center queue alert is on, the dashboard says so and tells you where we'll send it. If nothing can reach you, it says that too and takes you straight to the fix.
- Improved
The Add a monitor menu and the paste box no longer offer you the queue alert when you already have it.
- New
When the queue clears, the email can now suggest a few Pokemon shops to watch until the next one.
- Improved
Pokemon shops you add from our suggestions now leave out single cards, so you hear about boxes, tins and packs.
- Improved
If an alert has nowhere to reach you, we now offer to send it to the phone or computer you're on. On an iPhone that means adding StockWatch to your Home Screen first, and we show you how.
- Improved
Alert emails now tell you when you have only a few left for the month, and the last one says the day email starts again. Settings shows how many you have used.
- Improved
Pokemon Center queue alert emails no longer count towards your monthly email allowance, so other alerts can never use up the one you need on drop day.
iPhone alerts open the shop in one tab
- Fixed
Tapping an alert on an iPhone sometimes opened the same shop in two Safari tabs. It now opens in one.
Toys R Us Portugal and Spain monitors
- New
You can now watch Toys R Us Portugal and Spain on every plan, including Free. Pick Pokemon cards and one monitor covers every card product the shop lists, sold-out ones included, for new products, first releases, restocks and price drops. Or watch one product and see how many are left. It's in beta for now.
El Corte Inglés monitors
- New
You can now watch El Corte Inglés Portugal on the paid plans. One monitor covers every Pokémon product it sells, cards and figures alike, for new products, restocks and price drops, or you can watch just one product. It's in beta for now.
Watch one category of a WooCommerce shop
- New
WooCommerce monitors can now watch a single category, like a shop's pre-orders or its Pokemon cards. Paste the category's link into the new box, or use it as the shop address, and the monitor watches everything in it, including its sub-categories.
- Fixed
Some product names from WooCommerce shops came through with odd codes where a dash, an apostrophe or an ampersand should be. They now read the way the shop writes them.
Fewer false new product alerts
- Fixed
If you changed a monitor's link or settings, say from a shop's newest products to the whole shop, it could send you a new product alert for everything the shop already had. Now you'll only hear about what turns up after the change, on every shop we watch.
Centroxogo monitors
- New
You can now watch Centroxogo, the Portuguese toy shop, on the paid plans. One monitor covers all of its Pokemon cards for new releases, restocks and price drops, or you can watch just one product. It's in beta for now.
Sold-out alerts you were missing
- Fixed
When a shop sold out of lots of products at once, we held those sold-out alerts back, so you only heard about it when the stock came back. Now you'll hear both. If you'd rather not get them, switch off Sold out on the monitor.
- Fixed
If you changed a paused monitor's link or settings and switched it back on, it could send new product alerts for things that were already there. That's fixed.
Fewer false restock alerts
- Fixed
A monitor watching one part of a shop, like the Pokemon range at Zatu, could send restock alerts when nothing had come back in stock, sometimes several for the same product in a few minutes. That's fixed.
Hear back about sites you ask us to add
- Improved
Asking us to add a site is now a conversation. You'll hear when we look at it and when it's added, and if we need to know which products you're after, we'll ask on your request and you can reply straight back.
- Improved
If we can't add a site, we'll tell you rather than leave you waiting.
Report a problem from any monitor
- New
Every monitor now has a Report a problem button, so you can tell us when one shows an error, goes quiet or misses a restock. Pick what's wrong, add a note if you like, and the monitor's details come with it.
- Improved
Each report is a conversation with us. If we need more detail we'll ask on your report, you can reply straight back, and you'll get a notification when we answer.
Monitors tell you when a shop keeps turning them away
- Fixed
If a shop keeps turning a monitor's checks away, the monitor now slows down, then pauses and tells you. Before, it could keep failing for hours without a word.
First-drop alerts on single-product monitors
- Fixed
A monitor that watches a single product now always tells you when it goes on sale for the first time, even with new-product alerts switched off. Until now that first alert could go missing.
Smyths Toys monitors paused for now
- Improved
We're reviewing Smyths Toys, so its monitors are paused and you can't set up new ones for now. Yours will start checking again by themselves once we're done.
- Improved
A paused Smyths Toys monitor doesn't count towards your plan, so you can use that space for another shop in the meantime.
Titan Cards and Double Sleeved in suggested shops
- New
Titan Cards and Double Sleeved are now among the shops we suggest. Both are set up for 30th Celebration sealed stock, so you'll hear when something is listed or comes back in.
More cloud monitors on Standard and Power
- Improved
Standard and Power now come with a lot more cloud monitors, so you can watch Argos and the big card shops at the same time without hitting your limit. Your plan page has the new numbers.
- Improved
Suggested shops now lead with the card shops, since that's where Pokemon restocks and new listings turn up most often.
Next monitors, in beta
- New
You can now watch Next. Paste a link to a Next product, tap your size, and we'll tell you when that size is back in stock or drops in price. It's new, so if an alert looks off, tell us.
- New
On a paid plan you can also watch a Next category, like Toys or LEGO, or a search, and hear about each new product as Next adds it.
Pasting a product link into Any other shop
- Improved
Paste a single product's link into Any other shop and the monitor now watches just that product, named after it. You'll hear as soon as it's back in stock.
- Fixed
On some shops, a monitor card showed the shop's logo instead of the product and linked to the wrong page. It also couldn't tell when the product came back in stock. That's fixed, and we've repaired the monitors it affected.
Suggested shops watch the right stock
- Fixed
The Total Cards and Zatu suggestions now watch each shop's Pokemon range, so you'll hear about restocks there.
- Improved
The Magic Madhouse suggestion now watches 30th Celebration sealed stock. To follow a different set, change the words it looks for.
- New
A Shopify shop monitor can now watch a single collection. Paste the collection's link, such as the shop's Pokemon page.
- Improved
If you'd already added one of these suggestions, we've switched it over for you.
Clearer messages when a check fails
- Improved
When a check doesn't go through, your monitor now says what happened in plain words and whether you need to do anything. Most of the time you don't, and it keeps checking.
- Improved
If a product's page has gone, there's a button to paste its new link. If a monitor was paused after failing, you can start it again from the same message.
- Improved
Your notifications and alerts channel use the same plain words, so there's nothing to decode.
- Improved
A check that fails once and works on the next try no longer shows up as a problem. We only tell you when checks have kept failing for ten minutes.
Shops worth watching next
- New
Once your queue alert is on, we suggest shops where Pokemon stock turns up between queues, such as Argos and Total Cards. One tap sets up the watch.
- New
Your dashboard and Monitors page now suggest shops that fit what you already watch. On the Monitors page you can hide them.
- Improved
If your plan can't take another shop, we now say so in plain words and show what you can do instead, like watching a single product.
- Improved
On an iPhone or iPad we now show you how to add StockWatch to your home screen, which is what lets alerts pop up on your phone. Opened the link inside another app? We'll tell you how to get it into Safari first.
- New
The Monitors page has starter shops you can use on the free plan, like Total Cards, Zatu and TALA, and every paid one now says which plan it comes with.
Easier to watch any shop
- Improved
Paste a link to a shop that doesn't have its own monitor and we now set it up as Any other shop for you, the new name for Universal. Right there you can also watch the page from your own browser with the StockWatch extension, or ask us to add the shop.
- Improved
Paste a Shopify or WooCommerce shop into Any other shop and it now gets our Shopify or WooCommerce monitor instead, which is made for those shops.
- Improved
Paste a shop we support that isn't on your plan and we now tell you which plan monitors it, instead of saying we don't.
- New
Shops built on BigCommerce or Wix now have their own monitors on the paid plans.
- Improved
If a shop asks your browser to slow down, a monitor that runs there now tells you and lets you pick a slower speed in one tap. A new speed reaches the extension straight away.
Faster checks from your own browser
- Improved
Monitors that run in your own browser with the StockWatch extension can now check much faster, whatever your plan. Get the latest extension from Settings.
- Improved
If Chrome is closed, a monitor that runs there now tells you it isn't checking, instead of going quiet.
Straight answers when we can't watch a page
- Improved
Paste a page we can't find any products on and we'll tell you there and then, instead of setting up a monitor that never works. You'll see what you can do instead, like watching one product by its link or asking us to add the shop.
- New
On a computer with Chrome, you can watch a page like that from your own browser with the StockWatch extension. The Add box offers it when it can help.
Waterstones: hear when your local shop has it
- New
Watching one book at Waterstones? Pick the shops near you and we'll tell you when it's in stock there for Click & Collect, as well as online.
- Improved
A monitor watching one product now just asks about back in stock, price drops and selling out. New products can't happen to one item, so it's gone, and so is Only deals unless you'd already turned it on.
iPhone alerts open the shop in Safari
- Improved
On an iPhone, tapping an alert now opens the shop in Safari, with your saved passwords and cards.
- Fixed
Tapping an alert with StockWatch already open on your iPhone could leave a blank screen when you switched back. Now you land back in StockWatch.
Two things fixed on a phone
- Fixed
On a page like What's new, the menu used to open underneath that page's own heading bar. It now opens over the top, and the menu button stays put when you scroll.
- Fixed
Tap an alert while StockWatch is closed and the shop opens, same as before. Close the shop and you land back on StockWatch instead of a blank screen.
Monitors that kept stopping on strict shops
- Fixed
Some shops would turn a check away now and again, and the monitor took that as the shop being shut and stopped looking for a while. It now tries another way round and keeps going, so you get far fewer of those pauses and far fewer alerts saying a shop blocked us.
Ask for a shop we don't cover yet
- New
If we can't read the link you paste, you can now ask us to add that shop from the same box. We'll let you know if we add it.
Alert emails that say what happened
- Improved
Alert emails now say what actually happened. A Pokemon Center queue email tells you the queue is up and has a button to Pokemon Center, and an email about a page you watch shows what it said before and after.
- Fixed
A test alert no longer reads like a real restock. On Discord it said the item was back in stock, and on a Pokemon Center queue monitor the email called it a restock.
AllSaints, Superdry, Rimowa and similar shops
- New
You can now watch shops built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud, such as AllSaints, Superdry and Rimowa. Watch one product for a restock, the newest arrivals, or the whole shop for new products and price drops.
- Improved
You can edit a monitor even if its type isn't part of your plan any more. Only switching it to a type your plan doesn't include needs an upgrade.
Argos monitors
- New
You can now watch Argos for restocks, price drops and new products, across a search, a category or just one product. There is also a switch to watch only the products Argos sells in its app, which is where a lot of Pokemon stock drops first.
- Fixed
Watches on Argos products had stopped updating. They check stock and price again now.
A simpler way to choose your alerts
- Improved
The form for setting up or editing a monitor is shorter. You pick what to hear about from a short list (back in stock, new products, price drops and sold out), and settings most people never change are under More options.
- New
New monitors tell you about new products and restocks from the start, including full-price restocks.
- Improved
Watching every product in a Shopify or WooCommerce shop is now part of the paid plans. Monitors that already do it carry on as they are.
Universal monitor alerts link to the product
- Fixed
Alerts from Universal monitors could reach Discord, Telegram and your phone without a link to the product. They now link straight to it. In Discord and Telegram they show the price as well, and Discord shows the product picture.
Every email alert links to the product
- Fixed
Some restock emails arrived with no button to the product. Every email alert now links straight to the product, or to the shop when the alert is about the shop itself. Tapping the product picture opens it too.
- Improved
Email alerts now say they're from StockWatch even when your email app blocks images, and the buttons show up properly in Outlook.
- Improved
The test email in Settings now looks like a real alert and comes from the same address your alerts do. There is a short wait between test emails.
Monitors keep checking shops that are closed or down
- Fixed
If a shop put its password page up, or its website went down for a while, the monitor watching it could switch itself off after a few hours. Now it keeps checking, so you'll still hear the moment the shop is back.
- Improved
When a Shopify monitor's address stops leading to the shop, the error now says the shop may have moved, where before it showed a bare error code.
Clearer answers when your plan doesn't include something
- Fixed
Pasting a link to a shop we don't monitor yet offered an upgrade that wouldn't have helped. Now it tells you we don't monitor those shops yet.
- Improved
In the step-by-step setup, tapping a monitor type or check speed from a higher plan now shows you the plans, where before nothing happened. The classic form also tells you when a link you paste needs a higher plan.
- Fixed
Monitors that check a whole store no longer offer an upgrade for speeds no plan allows them.
Clearer keyword task and stock labels
- Fixed
Keyword tasks with no Discord webhook or email address no longer say "No destination" when you have push notifications on, because their matches reach your phone.
- Improved
Products listed before they're in stock now show "Listed but not yet in stock" on the dashboard card for every shop, so you don't have to open the card to see it.
Keyword task alerts on your phone, and quick cart fixes
- Fixed
A keyword task that matched a product sent its alert to the task's Discord channel or email address, but not to your phone. It now reaches your phone or computer as well, including on monitors set to alert through keyword tasks only.
- Fixed
Shopify alerts from monitors with Track Variants switched off had no quick cart buttons on the dashboard or in Discord. New alerts from those monitors now have them.
- Improved
The dashboard now tells you when a price drop is on something out of stock, instead of showing a card with no cart buttons and no reason why.
- Improved
Quick cart buttons now show in the dashboard's grid view too, not just the list.
Queue alerts come on top of your plan
- Improved
Pokemon Center queue alerts no longer count towards your plan's cloud monitors, so you can have one alongside the shops you already watch.
Pokemon Center queue alerts in one tap
- New
Pick UK or US and tap once to get told when the Pokemon Center queue goes up. Straight after, you choose where the alert goes: this phone, email, or the Chrome extension on your computer. You can also send yourself a test.
- Fixed
Queue alerts now reach your inbox if you've turned on email for restocks.
- Fixed
Tapping a locked shop on an empty Monitors page said you had reached your monitor limit. It now tells you which plan that shop needs.
Reddit alerts open the right post
- Fixed
Reddit alerts now open the post in the subreddit you're watching. If someone reposted a picture or shared a post from another subreddit, the alert opened the original instead, which could be hours older and made the alert look late.
Repeated restock and price alerts
- Fixed
Some monitors sent the same restock alert over and over this morning for products that had not come back into stock. They now hold off rather than alert when they cannot read a shop properly.
- Fixed
Prices on a few shops moved back and forth between two values, which alerted as a price drop each time. They now stay in the currency the shop actually sells in.
An updates page, and a What's new button
- New
This page, which lists the changes you'll notice in StockWatch and the day each one went live.
- New
A What's new button in the app, with a dot when there's an update you haven't seen yet.
Something not working? Have a look in the help centre.